It seems the latest drama surrounding Jason Aldean is still very far from over…
Many people have joined the discussion on the country musician’s latest song ‘Try That In a Small Town’, a tune that has sparked intense controversy in the past few weeks.
Now, the song – which released in May and debuted at No. 2 last month – soared to the No. 1 spot on the chart dated Aug. 5. With Morgan Wallen’s ‘Last Night’ placing No. 2 and Luke Combs’ ‘Fast Car’ coming in third, it marked the first time in the Billboard chart’s 65-year history country songs claimed the top three spots.
“Try That In A Small Town” is also Aldean’s first No.1 on the Hot 100. The achievement comes after Aldean faced backlash following the release of the song’s music video.
Many people accused the song of being ‘racist’ and ‘pro-lynching’, and it was even pulled from the airwaves as fellow celebrities and musicians chimed in with their opinions.
In fact, the hosts on popular daytime talk show The View spoke about the type of messages the song alluded to. Co-host Whoopi Goldberg called out Aldean’s use of imagery in the music video, which showed confrontations between Black Lives Matter activists and police.
“He talks about life in a small town, and it’s different, and he chose these images,” Goldberg said.
“He’s got folks from the Black Lives Matter movement, and he’s talking about people taking care of each other, and I find it so interesting that it never occurred to Jason or the writers that that’s what these folks were doing: They were taking care of the people in their town because they didn’t like what they saw,” she added.
Aldean was then forced to defend himself over the song, taking to Twitter to write: “In the past 24 hours I have been accused of releasing a pro-lynching song (a song that has been out since May) and was subject to the comparison that I (direct quote) was not too pleased with the nationwide BLM protests. These references are not only meritless, but dangerous.”
Aldean and wife Brittany. Credit / Jeff Kravitz / FilmMagic / Getty.
He continued: “There is not a single lyric in the song that references race or points to it – and there isn’t a single video clip that isn’t real news footage – and while I can try and respect others to have their own interpretation of a song with music – this one goes too far.”
The ‘Dirt Road Anthem’ singer then added: “‘Try That In A Small Town’, for me, refers to the feeling of a community that I had growing up, where we took care of our neighbors, regardless of differences of background or belief. Because they were our neighbors, and that was above any differences.”
However, Aldean now has something to celebrate after the song soared to the top of the charts. Taking to Instagram this week, his wife Brittany wrote: “Well, yesterday was a monumental day for @jasonaldean. #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart!! …A career first That sure did backfire, didn’t it?? The best fans EVERRR.”